Classmates who ran the 7+ mile Bay-to-Breakers reported at Bill and Lynda Hutton’s elegant Sunday brunch that the race was zany -- as well as a serious run. People ran in costume, in body paint, in hooked-together groups, and some were naked except for their running shoes.

That was hard to believe on a weekend when temperatures hovered in the 50s and 60s, making "layering" and coats a necessity -- even for those of us who prefer vacationing in shorts and t-shirts.

But the warmth of Bill Hutton’s committee, from the wonderful luncheon on the patio of Pete and Willinda McCrea’s home beside their grapefields and winery in the Napa Valley -- and of course their wines were served -- to Otter Anderson’s "Road Trip Red" and SugarLoaf Crossing white wine from his own winery that were served at our Friday Night dinner at the Empress of China, helped make the weekend memorable. The weekend began with a catered cocktail party on the rooftop patio of Bill’s downtown law office and concluded with the catered brunch by the same group, Small Potatoes Catering, in the garden of Bill’s home in the exclusive Seacliff neighborhood in northwest San Francisco.

In between were our Saturday morning class meeting and another is our series of Passages discussions, led by the Rev, Duane Cox, aka Doberman and featuring our characteristic open conversation, followed by a dinner cruise on the bay that traversed almost its entire length.

The minutes of the class meeting -- and dozens of pictures from the weekend -- are on our class website, http://www.alum.dartmouth.org/classes/61/. Several key points from our meeting, however:

* The quiet fundraising phase of the campaign for our Class if 1961 legacy -- the American Tradition of Performance -- has gone extremely well, with $115,000 from the first 19 donors, said class president Oscar Arlanian, reporting for projects chair David Birney, who was doing a performance in Oklahoma City . The money is to establish a permanent endowment to provide much needed programming funds so the Hopkins Center can bring performance to Dartmouth for generations to come. And Pete Palin appealed for us to remember the endowment in our wills.

* We voted to publish a class book for our 40th reunion -- our last "big" reunion -- since many of our lives are so different now than they were at our 25th reunion. The book will be produced electronically, so it will be important to respond to the upcoming questionnaire by e-mail or fax, not snail mail.

* Our Dartmouth Night minireunion is the weekend of Oct. 23, the Cornell game. We’ll essentially use last year’s pattern: block of rooms at the Airport Economy Inn, Saturday Night dinner at the Sumter Inn catered by I’Tasca, brunch at the Fayerweathers, post-bonfire reception and postgame keg at the Frost statue.

More next time

Robert Conn

Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Medical Center Boulevard
Winston-Salem NC 27157-1015
Rconn@wfubmc.edu

Note:  This column is limited to 500 words at the request of the Alumni Magazine.